Alaska Adventure

B"H lots and lots of great stories.. I will post B"N.. when I get a chance... in the meantime I need to catch some sleep.. Heading to the Arctic Circle in a few hours G-d willing..
Many thanks to the amazing family I met in Anchorage this Shabbos..

Fire!

Fire an amazing gift from Hashem..
As a backpacker and outdoor enthusiast I highly appreciate it..
It was Thursday and I was @ one of the most beautiful spots - Kuani Lake.. I would've loved to have stayed longer there but I wanted to make Shabbos in Anchorage - go to shul and spend Shabbos in a Shabbos environment.. so I waited on the road for a ride.. It was quite late.. dark outside and cars weren't passing.. and then it started to rain...
I was getting really cold.. I was shivering..
I decided to quit for that night..

I was really lucky..
There was a RV hookup campground right there.. They had some sort of designated spot for barbeques, stocked with fire wood and some sort of roof to keep the rain away. Perfect!! I made a fire..moved over a table next to it.. spread out my sleeping bag on the table and tucked inside..
Every few hours I fed the fire some more wood and rolled over back to sleep. I was warm and it felt really nice. I did get totally smoked out and smelled barbqued but thought to myself - tomorrow Shabbos..I'll smell nice.. I'll get myself a room, shower and sleep in a good bed..
ha!!
I got smoked out in my nice room.. Fire!
but B"H it was an amazing miracle..

Friday night - I woke up 2 am on my own.. I hear a cringing sound - my shabbos candles and white tablecloth (a pillow case) were on fire.. It was still a very very small fire.. the alarm didn't even go off yet. I put the pillow case into the sink and I went downstairs to the reception to call someone to open the water to blow it out. By the time they came up to my room the fire was bigger now and the alarm for the entire hotel went off. It was really embarrasing and everyone gave me their looks.. B"H no damage was done.. it wasn't really major but my room was full of smoke and fumes and I had to sleep in it. They didn't give me another room.. Well I had to smell barbequed on Shabbos too.
(Don't worry not really.. I made sure to open up all the windows and had the fan on.. By the time it was morning.. it was mostly aired out. If their was any smoke smell it was very faint. I don't think others were able to detect it..)

Getting there... The Last Frontier

I just hitchiked from NYC to Alaska. NY - North Dakota - Winnipeg - Alberta - BC - Yukon - Alaska Hgwy - Glen Hgwy - Parks Hgwy - Dalton - Arctic Circle - all
the way to Arctic Ocean.. over 5000 miles and going..
I rollerbladed across the border at North Dakota - Winnipeg. The Canadian and American border control gave me quite some trouble. I guess I am the first to cross their borders on rollerblades.. (besides they probably aren't too fond of happy hippies..my sleeping bag and tent didn't add some points either.) they haven't seen it before and made sure to run quite some background checks on me first.. extensive questioning and a thorough check of all my belongings while they had me closed behind the door in the waiting room. It was no fun.. especially when they had misplaced the roof of my tent.. I couldn't find it. It wouldn't be fun to get rained out.. B"H when I opened later my sleeping bag I had found it. They stuffed inside?!

Chocolovers.. yummy!

Chocolate perfume.. a great invention..
I am not sure which one I prefer more. A lemon citrus scent, vanilla or chocolate..
but it is definitely one of my favorites!
I love the smell!

NYC is such a fun place!

There are so many free things to do.. great cultural events, art galleries, concerts, inspiring classes, street performers (I had to stop by my favorite group of Peruvian Musicians @ Times Square..) and fun things.. all the time..

I went kayaking @ the Hudson. It was loads of fun.. Great way to cool off from the 100 degree temperature.

and of course Skating in NYC traffic is fun.. It is always such a thrill!

I later dropped by the Mid Manhattan Library to pick up some books about Alaska.. I am really looking forward to my trip... B'ezrat Hashem.

A night swim in the Atlantic...

ahh. a night swim..
the first jump... so refreshing... the chill water.. waking up every bone...
what a great swim..
Thank you G-d.

The bridge and lights reflecting in the water made it truly magical..
and the great part is that no one was there @ night! and got to really feel the water on my body... it was quiet.. just the music of the waves.. and the sweet songs I was chanting.. where.. where.. can I find (y).. g-d please one more glimpse show me..

Thank You Hashem.

Please G-d I pray, that I should never be lazy... or afraid to take the plunge..
remain forever young...

Beautiful Rainbow Family!

I am so glad to have seen you all dearest brothers and sisters. Thank you Zev, jerusalem camp and my most beautiful rainbow family.

may the light within us shine forever.. be shared with all.. become brighter continuously exponentially and may we reach higher and higher!

May we make a true Kidush Hashem, serve Hashem truly with love and awe and make Him proud of us His dearest beloved children. lover.

V'yismcha B'cha Yisrael..

Yispaer bi ki chafetz bi..

You really play like a champion..

before exiting the door.. the reminder read..





You really do. Thanks J. (Steamboat Springs)

They had a rule. I loved it.

To stop and swim in every body of water river/lake we passed along the way!

It was loads of fun!!

Thank you cool kids in the bus to Oregon..

I had just filled up the tank @ the gas station.. when the bus broke down and couldn't continue.. Where's good karma? - don't worry.. It is always there. Gam Zu L'tovah. Everything G-d does is good. Oh Please G-d let me live that way...

The kids were planning to take it easy anyways that afternoon.. so it worked out for them.. hopefully the bus just needed to take a break and cool off. I had just walked up to the entrance ramp when I got a great ride all the way to Steamboat Springs..

Beautiful "Stranger"

Indeed we are no strangers..

We are all one beautiful soul..

Oh G-d let us see it, feel it, and really know it...


(ode to all the wonderful people I have met.. NY-CO)

Thumbs up! It is the way to go...

Fun.. Exciting... Exhilarating..

total freedom.




thank you G-d for the amazing journey.

Rollerblading in Airports...

ooh... miles of smooth terrain... fun...

whizzing by all the people who are lazily trudging along shlepping their handbags across terminals to get to the gates.. their eyes popping out - wishing...

just get a pair of inline skates.. it's really worth it.. excitement in every step.. definitely a great pick me up - feel good - booster.

I love the third world country airports like Olympic airlines and Aerosvit. OK- they could definitely improve their kosher meals - the same long life shelf meal consisting of two crackers, apple sauce, tuna spread and chocolate pudding, served for all three meals.. (occasionally it will have a slight variance and include a hot meal - salmon.. or chicken.. too)

But I love that I can board the plane on rollerblades. They never gave me any trouble. It's really cool and feels great..

I recall once doing a Western Europe skating trip for months.. I skated across countries.. and of course skated to the airport - Heathrow when I needed to get a flight back home to Israel. I remember how I felt when I so wanted to finish off the entire trip on my skates but BA didn't allow me that pleasure.. they made me remove my skates for boarding..

...Hoping for a more friendly environment for skaters...
(it's usually alright - more than alright - in most cases people tend to be a lot more fun and welcoming around skaters.. it's a great ice breaker and people will be more chill.. however some places- supermarkerts - such as whole foods in union square and the cops @ the subways and on interstates still need to chill..)

until then I'll still remain B'ezrat Hashem always and forever a faithful skater..
truelife

Not blogging - too much going on or too little?

Sorry for not blogging. Just too much stuff happening all the time B"H.
A lapse in blogging is usually either because too many things are going on in the blogger's life or too little.. B"H it has been the former.
However in fact, there is never too little. Even when it seems that everything is still the same nothing is really still the same. Every moment is a brand new creation. So many new observations, ideas, thoughts, realizations - precious moments.. there are no words to describe it all..